riding tandem on a bicycle is a great joy made difficult by the single-service design of the pedal-driven vehicle. often the weight of an additional passenger creates balance issues, rooted in the a less-than-optimal positioning of the foot pedals. estonian company vigurvant‘s ‘tandem extension bicycle pedal’ is a stainless steel device that works in two positions; one as a closed normal pedal and the other open so that the tandem rider can assist in cycling.

closed position for single person use

detail

installed

on the road

context

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.see more project submissions from our readers here.

Kristjan Holm

mar 26, 2013

7

mmm, looks comfy! Not only do you have to sit on a panier carrier which is not strong enough for sitting on, your legs moving up and down will make it painfully uncomfortable on your bum i’d imagine! Why not static pegs?

Why not static pegs? If you are already sitting on the rear rack, then why not to help that nice person who is behind the handle bar? Sounds obvious? Synchronised movements (pedalling) makes also the riding and steering much more stabile. I know the issue about aluminium racks, very simple steel frame is more worth to think about. We are also continuously thinking about your bums to figure out an universal and light solution. It will be announced in next months, when the rush around the pedal project is bit settled down. For shorter distances it’s not that problematic, but yes, for hardcore cyclists like us, it’s good to have even surface with small cushion under your bum.
About legal issues. It’s officially legal only in The Netherlands, but widely used in many places around the globe, fortunately police don’t over-react in most counries.

While I agree that not many bicycles come fitted with a carrier suitable for carrying an adult and that putting so much weight at the back can affect the handling in a negative way I still think this product has a lot going for it. It is a simple, low tech ans intuitive device that can be retro fitted to ant standard bicycle. It makes the most of a less than perfect arrangement and for the odd occasion when you need to give a friend a ride it seems a rather elegant solution. It would work great on a ‘longtail’.

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